Amos 9:2-3 Though they dig into hell, there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, there will I bring them down:… In this passage God manifests His determination to arrest and punish the worker of iniquity. The prophet shows that when God came forth in judgment, none would be able to stand before Him, or escape from His vengeance. This subject is enlarged upon, as a warning to those who profane the ordinances and violate the laws of the Most High, to stand in awe, lest the Divine indignation be poured out upon them. These things have, however, very little influence on us. Many seem to believe, because sentence against their evil deeds has not been executed speedily, that it will never be executed. I. SOME OF THE REASONS WHY MANY ENTERTAIN THIS BELIEF. 1. Their success upon former occasions. When sinners first deviate into the paths of error, they experience many uneasy feelings. But when the lusts of the flesh have prevailed over other considerations, they try to persuade themselves that their former fears were in great measure imaginary. Sometimes men are checked at the very outset. They are detected and exposed. There is interposition of providence in their favour. When enticed to the commission of sin, the recollection of the check he formerly received will occur fresh to his memory, and deter him from the paths wherein destroyers go. 2. The successful example of other men. Frequently we see men rising to opulence and power by the most unjustifiable means. We see the wicked living in triumph, and dying in apparent Peace. When such is frequently the prosperity of the wicked, others are enticed to follow their example. They are induced to forsake the path of duty, and engage in pursuits that are dangerous to happiness. Could we discern the thoughts of wicked men when their conscience condemned them for their wickedness, we should perceive them frequently endeavouring to stifle their convictions and banish their fears, by appealing to Persons who had succeeded, or were at that time successful, in the same evil courses as those upon which they had entered. 3. They think they can repent whenever they see danger approaching. So great is the propensity of men to sin, that no motives, no considerations can prevent them from going on in their wicked practices. But at the same time they have such an aversion to suffering, that when they sin, they always wish to do so with security and with safety. And they generally contrive to persuade themselves that, in their case at least, this object may be attained. Among the many false reasonings which they employ for this purpose, there is none more successful than that which is founded on an after repentance. Many think that, after having drunk the cup of sinful pleasures to the dregs, all they have to do is to profess themselves sorry, and cast themselves upon the mercy of God. This, they think, whatever their present conduct may be, will set all things right at last. Repentance is not such an easy work as many people imagine. We cannot repent at whatever moment we may wish to do so. Alas! many, relying upon future repentance, neglect and abuse their present mercies. II. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR WICKED MEN TO ESCAPE THE JUST JUDGMENTS OF GOD. This world is not a state of complete retribution, yet the Most High does rule among the children of men. He has connected with holiness a portion of happiness, and with sin a portion of misery. Whatever happiness wicked men may pretend to, still happiness is a state of mind to which they can have no claim. They cannot possibly be really happy. Wicked men may evade the vigilance of human laws, but they are still amenable to their own consciences. And sometimes wicked men are punished more immediately by the hand of God Himself; as were Ananias and Sapphira. Then there is death, which is not the extinction of being. After death there is a judgment to come, which will seal the doom of every human being. (John Mamsay, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: |
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